In New Jersey, we have just said goodbye to Edward Mosberg, a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust, a tireless and courageous witness to history, a patriot, and a staunch defender of Poland’s reputation, President Andrzej Duda announced on Thursday.

READ ALSO: This is very sad news. Edward Mosberg, a witness to history, a defender of the truth and a good friend of Poland, has died. Respect the memory!

Previously, the head of the presidential International Policy Bureau, Jakub Kumoch, informed that President Andrzej Duda had interrupted his visit to New York at the UN General Assembly to attend Edward Mosberg’s funeral.

Edward Mosberg was born on January 6, 1926 in Krakow. At the outbreak of World War II, he was 13 years old. He was a prisoner of German concentration camps in Płaszów and Mauthausen. Most of his relatives died in the Holocaust. In 1951 he left for New York. He lives in New Jersey. He was involved in developing the Polish-Jewish dialogue. He died at the age of 96 years.

Moments ago, in New Jersey, we said goodbye to Mr. Edward Mosberg, a Polish Jew, Holocaust Survivor, a tireless and courageous Witness to history, a Patriot, and a staunch Defender of the good name of Poland and Poland. . We thank God for His beautiful life. DIE

President Andrzej Duda wrote on Twitter.

In June 2019, President Duda awarded Mosberg with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland “for outstanding services in developing Polish-Jewish dialogue and disseminating knowledge about the role of the Poles in saving the Jews.”

At the age of 93, returning to the city where I was born and receiving such decorations was a very moving state for me.

said Mosberg later.

I accept this award on behalf of myself, my wife, my children and grandchildren, and most importantly, in honor of my mother, father, brothers and sisters and the 6 million Jews brutally murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. It is important that those who come for us bear witness to us and have assurance that the tragedy of the Holocaust will never be forgotten.

He says.

I also dedicate the decorations to those who gave and risked their lives to save the Jews during the war, such as Ulma’s family of Markowa, and also in hopes of better relations between the Jews and the Poles.

– added.

Edward Mosberg has participated in the March of the Living at Auschwitz many times. He also rose to prominence for his defense of the Katyn Memorial in New Jersey, which would have been placed in a less exposed area.

Mosberg devoted the last years of his life to education about the Holocaust.

Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg died Wednesday in New Jersey at the age of 96. Mosberg devoted the last years of his life to education about the Holocaust. We must not forget that there are no Polish death camps or the Polish Holocaust – he emphasized in his speech at the March of the Living in 2018.

Mosberg sharply criticized Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Kac in May 2019, calling him a “stupid idiot” for saying that Poles had sucked up anti-Semitism with their mother’s milk.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for stupidity

– he concluded in an interview with the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, before the March of the Living.

He also said later that Israel “has no better friend than Poland” and emphasized several times that the blame for the Holocaust was solely the German people, the Times of Israel portal reported.

In 2019, in Krakow, President Andrzej Duda awarded Mosberg with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland “for outstanding services in developing Polish-Jewish dialogue and spreading knowledge about the role of the Poles in saving the Jews.”

Returning to the city where I was born to receive such decorations was a very touching event for me. I accept this order on behalf of myself, my wife, my children and grandchildren, and most importantly, my mother, father, brother, and the six million Jews brutally murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Mosberg said.

He also added that “he devoted this distinction to those who gave their lives and risked their lives during the war, saving Jews like Ulma’s family from Markowa, relying on better relations between the Jews and the Poles.”

Mosberg was born on January 6, 1926 in Krakow and has two sisters. His parents own a department store. According to a report he made for the Shoah Foundation, a little over a year after the outbreak of World War II in 1939, a ghetto was established in Kraków and his immediate family, grandparents, and aunt lived in one apartment. In 1943, after the dissolution of the ghetto, the Mosberg family was transferred to a camp in Płaszów. A year later, Mosberg’s mother and sister were transported to the Auschwitz camp.

A few days later, he himself was first transferred to Auschwitz and then to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he did forced labor. After his release, he briefly returned to Poland, but after confronting anti-Semitism, he moved to Belgium, and then to the United States.

Mosberg is a successful developer in New Jersey and active in Holocaust commemoration, collaborating with the March of the Living program and starring in two documentaries.

Mosberg’s funeral was held Thursday at Livingston, NJ Cemetery.

Edward Mosberg decorated

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the activities of Polish-Jewish dialogue and the development of cooperation between countries, to preserve memory and popularize the truth about the Holocaust, President Andrzej Duda posthumously awarded Edward Mosberg the Great Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

After the news of Edward Mosberg’s departure, which I received this morning, I decided that as President of the Republic of Poland, I would present him with the Great Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, the highest Polish award in its class. . The decorations will be given to the daughters of Mr. Edward. Please, let it stay in the family as a souvenir

– said Andrzej Duda at a farewell ceremony in New Jersey. The statement was reported on the website of the president’s office.

ml / PAP